Monday, November 21, 2011

We will be simplifying the network drive structure for everyone beginning at 5:00 PM Tuesday November 22. At that time, access to the Academic and Admin file servers - your H: drive/individual user folder - will be temporarily stopped. The various 'user' directories on these servers will be consolidated into one location, such that everyone will have personal network storage space on files.macalester.edu/users. We expect the consolidation to be complete and all access to your files restored at approximately 9:00 PM. All other networked services, including email, Banner, the Internet and printing should not be affected.Macintosh users, you will need to update your drive mappings to smb://files.macalester.edu/users. If you need help, ITS staff are ready to assist you: contact your AIA or call the Help Desk at 651-696-6525. Windows PC users, your computers should automatically notice the change and update accordingly. Please let us know if you need assistance or have questions.

Monday, November 7, 2011

If you are a faculty member using either a Windows XP or Windows 7 computer, here’s what you need to do to complete your PC’s upgrade from Novell to Active Directory (AD). (Macintosh users, your transition will be much simpler. You should have already received information in campus mail, or directly from your AIA. If you did not, please call the ITS Help Desk at 651-696-6525.)

The upgrade will begin at 5:00 PM on Tuesday November 8. At this time, access to your G:, H: and M: drives will be disabled so that files can be moved to AD. When you leave work Tuesday, please shut your computer(s) down.

When you arrive the morning of Wednesday November 9, turn your PC on and log in normally. Several windows will appear, which means that the update process has started successfully. If you are prompted with a message asking, “Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?” and listing Novell Client as the program, click Yes.
DO NOTHING on your PC until the computer reboots itself, which it will do within five or six minutes. Don’t click anything, don’t type anything, don’t pull the power plug - just let the computer chug along and do its thing.

After the computer reboots, your login screens will look slightly different because Novell has been removed from your system. Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE, then enter your network username and password and log in. This is the same username/password combination you use for email and 1600grand.

If you see several login icons instead of a username and password window, click the “Switch User” button, then click “Other User” and log in normally. This preference will be saved, so you’ll see a normal login screen from now on.

Your network drives under My Computer may look slightly different, but your access to the G:, H: and M: drives should remain the same. Don’t be alarmed if directories you have created now show in all capital letters - the contents will remain unchanged. You will also see slightly different names attached to your network drives:

Yesterday’s ‘Faculty AD Upgrade’ notice may have left Macintosh users wondering “will this affect me?” To be clear, the AD upgrade will benefit all faculty, including Macintosh users, but the process will be simpler for you. All Mac-using faculty and academic staff will receive detailed information in campus mail about what you can expect to see and do for the upgrade. If you have questions, please consult your AIA.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

This past summer, ITS began a major network upgrade, moving from Novell Netware to Microsoft Active Directory (AD). AD is the current industry standard for “directory services,” the central repository for all key elements of a computer network. When the upgrade is complete, you will see little obvious difference, but you’ll enjoy faster login times, greater security, more stable and reliable network service and improved file sharing.

The Admin server, and all staff computers that connect to it, were upgraded in June. We will perform a similar upgrade to the Academic server next week, beginning at 5:00 PM Tuesday November 8. Your Academic Information Associate (AIA) has been visiting faculty computers in your division and preparing them for the upgrade, and you may have received communications about the upgrade from your AIA. (If you have not yet responded to an AD meeting request from your AIA, please do so before November 8.) More detailed information will be forthcoming as we prepare for the upgrade. For now, note this: when you leave campus Tuesday 11/8,please shut your computer down.